Saturday, 4 April 2015

How to Fake Your Own Death (Short Story Beginning)

   People say that when you're about to die, your whole life flashes before your eyes. Images of past birthdays, Christmases, Thanksgiving dinners; family, friends and the old street where you learned how to ride a bike. The day you had your first kiss, lost your virginity, the feeling of heartbreak. The warm sun on a winter's morning and the first bite of fall on the last day of summer. These things are what normal people think of just before the last beat of their heart. Normal people wouldn't be lying in a pool of blood hoping that it's not in their hair, but I've never been what people would call “normal.”

   My “name” is Ariana Guile (pronounced “geel” for future reference) and I am about to die. I think. Well, I should say “I hope,” because honestly, I have quite had it with this life. I'm ready for the next one. Ready for the adventure of starting over and moving on with a new life. Death is the perfect out. No, I'm not suicidal. I'm simply faking my own death.
   Trust me, it wasn't easy to pull this off, but I've been planning for three years. I've saved three years worth of wages from my shitty job as a Wal-Mart cashier, paid for a counterfeit passport that looks more authentic than my real one, and have all the bleach I believe my dark hair can take without falling out. I am ready.
   The ambulance is getting close, I can hear it as I lay on the street, the blood packet underneath my shirt has drained completely, staining the street around me and my yellow blouse. I know that Jake and Tom are inside the ambulance, fresh out of paramedic school. They only know of my plan because I need their help. Once they stop being useful, I'm sure I'll forget them and the $1000 I'm paying them. It will be money well-spent once I'm “dead.”
   The ambulance stops about 10 feet from me, at least that's what I can sense through the crowd that has gathered around my seemingly lifeless body. Everyone is chattering so loudly, it's hard to keep still. The elders in the group seem to be more concerned about my appearance than they are about my life.
   “Such a lovely top. That blood will never come out,” I hear one of them whisper to their friend.
   “What a pretty young lady,” an elderly man says to himself. “I wonder if she was tight.”
   Conclusion: Old people are shallow and gross.

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